Logs are stacked at the Interfor sawmill in Grand Forks, B.C., in 2018. The company expects to trim fourth-quarter production by about 250 million board feet compared to the second quarter.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
Interfor Corp. IFP-T is increasing its planned production cuts for the fourth quarter across its operations in B.C., Ontario and the U.S. due to persistently weak market conditions and ongoing economic uncertainty.
The company says it now expects to reduce lumber production in the fourth quarter by about 250 million board feet or about 26 per cent compared with the second quarter, when it says it had a more normal operating stance.
The cuts in its revised outlook are up from a plan announced last month to cut lumber production by about 145 million board feet between September and December, representing about 12 per cent from its normal operating stance.
Ottawa rolls out $700-million loan package for softwood industry
Canadian softwood producers brace for impact from new U.S. tariffs
Interfor says the curtailment volumes will be about evenly split between its Canadian and U.S. operations.
Interfor chief executive Ian Fillinger says lumber prices in all regions of North America have continued to weaken, from already unsustainably low levels.
The company produced 936 million board feet of lumber in the second quarter of this year about 910 million board feet in the third quarter.